Portfolio Optimization Leader (SKU Rationalization 80/20),

Baxter International Inc.; Deerfield (IL); On-site; USD 216,000 - 297,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401(k) with company match

Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)

Paid time off 20 to 35 days

Educational assistance programs

Job summary

Baxter International Inc. is seeking a Portfolio Optimization Leader to guide enterprise-level focus and value creation through portfolio optimization and 80/20-driven rationalization. You will govern a large cross-functional portfolio, drive prioritization, and report benefits to senior leaders.

You will lead governance, eliminate low-value work, and ensure resources concentrate on high-value opportunities while tracking impact across operating income, revenue growth, ROIC, and cash flow.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA preferred.
• 10-15+ years in operations, strategy, or continuous improvement.
• Experience with 80/20 methodology, Lean, or segmentation.

Responsibilities

• Apply Pareto principles to identify vital tasks, customers and SKUs with highest returns.
• Govern a portfolio of initiatives: process improvement, transformation and product rationalization.
• Establish governance forums, decision rights and prioritization criteria to focus on high-value opportunities.
• Report portfolio status, value realization, risks and gaps to senior leaders.
• Mine the portfolio to identify repeatable initiatives and standardize deployment enterprise-wide.
• Redirect resources toward high-impact initiatives and champion simplification.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Strategic thinking

Influence & coaching

Decisive focus

Governance & accountability

Exceptional communication

Change leadership

80/20 analysis

Lean

Education

Bachelor’s degree

MBA preferred

Job description

This is where your work makes a difference.

At Baxter, we believe every person—regardless of who they are or where they are from—deserves a chance to live a healthy life. It was our founding belief in 1931 and continues to be our guiding principle. We are redefining healthcare delivery to make a greater impact today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Our Baxter colleagues are united by our Mission to Save and Sustain Lives. Together, our community is driven by a culture of courage, trust, and collaboration. Every individual is empowered to take ownership and make a meaningful impact. We strive for efficient and effective operations, and we hold each other accountable for delivering exceptional results.

Here, you will find more than just a job - you will find purpose and pride.

Your role at Baxter

The Portfolio Optimization Leader is a strategic member of the Baxter GPS office and is responsible for driving enterprise-level focus and value creation through Portfolio Optimization, which includes projects that improve processes and accelerate transformation, as well as product portfolio rationalization using 80/20 capabilities. A core responsibility of this role is governing a large, cross-functional portfolio of 800+ projects to simplify complexity, improve business performance, and ensure resources are concentrated on the highest-value opportunities. This leader establishes governance, prioritization, and review mechanisms that enable disciplined decision making, strong accountability, and elimination of low-value work and offerings. They also provide enterprise visibility into benefit tracing across Operating Income, Revenue Growth, ROIC, Free Cash Flow, cost avoidance, productivity and customer satisfaction, while highlighting risks to achieving targets and providing regular updates to Senior Leaders. They challenge the status quo, articulate the 'why', and help teams focus on the initiatives that matter most.

What will you be doing

• Strategic Prioritization: Apply the Pareto Principle to identify the "vital few" tasks, customers, and SKU/product lines that generate the highest returns.
• Portfolio Optimization & Governance: Govern a portfolio of initiatives focused on process improvement, business transformation, and product portfolio rationalization using 80/20 capabilities; establish governance forums, decision rights, and prioritization criteria to focus investment on the highest-value opportunities and eliminate low-value complexity.
• Portfolio Reporting & Value Realization: Report the status of an 800+ project portfolio, including value realization and risks to achieving targets; provide transparency on progress, expected outcomes, and gaps requiring leadership attention or intervention. Ensure benefit tracing is in place across Operating Income, Revenue Growth, ROIC, Free Cash Flow, cost avoidance, and customer satisfaction, and provide regular updates to Senior Leaders.
• Portfolio Mining & Enterprise Deployment: Mine the portfolio to identify repeatable initiatives, scalable solutions, and proven practices; standardize and enforce deployment of these across the enterprise to accelerate value capture, reduce duplication, and improve consistency of outcomes.
• Resource Allocation: Redirect human, financial, and technological resources toward high-impact initiatives.
• Culture Transformation: Champion a culture of simplification, continuous improvement, and focus.
• Team Empowerment & Delegation: Identify top talent and delegate intentionally.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Use segmented P&Ls and analytics to guide decisions.
• Process Improvement & Transformation: Oversee and govern kaizen events, transformation initiatives, and cross-functional improvement efforts to ensure they align to enterprise priorities, simplify processes, increase productivity, and deliver measurable business impact.

Typical Activities would include

• Conducting 80/20 analysis (e.g., customer, product, profit).
• Convening kaizen and strategy review forums to assess progress, remove barriers, and reinforce priorities.
• Developing Raving Fans and target selling strategies.
• Leading portfolio optimization reviews across process improvement, transformation, and product rationalization; using 80/20 analysis to guide decisions, simplify offerings, and focus investment on the highest-value opportunities.
• Partnering with senior leaders across business lines.

What Will You Bring

Key Skills

• Analytical & Strategic Thinking: Ability to see the big picture and pinpoint leverage points.
• Influence & Coaching: Inspire and coach leaders and teams to adopt focused, high-impact behaviors.
• Decisive & Focused: Concentrate on important - not just urgent - work and say 'no' to lower-value activities.
• Governance & Accountability Orientation: Drive results through clear governance, disciplined prioritization, and strong accountability across the portfolio.
• Exceptional Communication: Clearly articulate the 'why' behind decisions and challenge existing norms.
• Change Leadership: Influence teams through organizational transformation and simplification
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA preferred
• 10-15+ years in operations, strategy, or continuous improvement
• Experience with 80/20 methodology, Lean, or segmentation

We understand compensation is an important factor as you consider the next step in your career. At Baxter, we are committed to equitable pay for all employees, and we strive to be more transparent with our pay practices. The estimated base salary for this position is $216,000 - $297,000 annually. The estimated range is meant to reflect an anticipated salary range for the position. We may pay more or less than of the anticipated range based upon market data and other factors, all of which are subject to change. Individual pay is based upon upon location, skills and expertise, experience, and other relevant factors. This position may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses, commission, and/or long-term incentive.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.

US Benefits At Baxter (except For Puerto Rico)

This is where your well-being matters. Baxter offers comprehensive compensation and benefits packages for eligible roles. Our health and well-being benefits include medical and dental coverage that start on day one, as well as insurance coverage for basic life, accident, short-term and long-term disability, and business travel accident insurance. Financial and retirement benefits include the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), with the ability to purchase company stock at a discount, and the 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan (RSP), with options for employee contributions and company matching. We also offer Flexible Spending Accounts, educational assistance programs, and time-off benefits such as paid holidays, paid time off ranging from 20 to 35 days based on length of service, family and medical leaves of absence, and paid parental leave. Additional benefits include commuting benefits, the Employee Discount Program, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and childcare benefits. Join us and enjoy the competitive compensation and benefits we offer to our employees.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Baxter is an equal opportunity employer. Baxter evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, disability/handicap status or any other legally protected characteristic.

Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal

Reasonable Accommodations

Baxter is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities globally. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or interview process, let us know the nature of your request along with your contact information.